Hello there, I hope to be of some assistance through my personal experience using BUPRENORPHINE. Firstly, it’s an OPIOID! Primarily used for people with OUD, “OPIOID USE DISORDER!” Also utilized by people on opioids who want to taper down from using them and or stop all together.

At the time I was trying them, I had been every debilitated with extreme pain occurring simultaneously with Migraine Headaches, Nausea, Muscle & Joint Ache, Complete Physical Exhaustion, Post Exertion Malaise, Cognitive Dysfunction, POTS, Orthostatic Intolerance etc. The point being that I wasn’t only dealing with one or two symptoms ranging on a pain chart from 6-10 but many.
Opioids have literally saved my life.

When I was bedridden and home confined for over 20+ years, the amount of physical pain and the accompanying torture I had to endure each day was far from any kind of “life existence!” My life was totally about surviving one hour to the next.
My wife was my full time care giver for the first 11 of those years until the stress started to debilitate her and we separated, divorced and went our separate ways although we still loved each other and were very much committed to each others wellbeing., (still are)! We are still close friends today. I would never have survived without the care, dedication and love she showed me every day .
Back to the Buprenorphine!
Frankly, I never developed an addition to OPIOIDS. Although I was and remain physically dependent on them. (Similar to a diabetic being physically dependent on their insulin).
They never provided me any kind of psychological hit, euphoric feeling or and sense of feeling high,
I had so many pain symptoms to manage that at best, my pain levels would go down from a 10 to 7 or 6.
OPIOIDS, have gotten a much worse “rap” than they deserve regarding legitimate doctors and pain patients. Research has proven that very few legitimate pain patients with continuing, debilitating pain lasting many years ever abuse their medication,
For us…….there’s nothin to abuse. If we take 30mg of whatever opioid you’re taking to relieve pain, taking 60mg or 90mg doesn’t make you feel any better or take any more of the pain away.
It’s like asking somebody who takes an aspirin or an acetaminophen or two to get rid of a headache. If their headache goes away do they continue taking more aspirin or acetaminophen? Of course not, there’s no reason too. They don’t feel any more pain relief and there’s certainly nothing to experience any kind of perceived “high!” on.
Frankly, I was greatly mislead about my entry into trying Buprenorphine. I was told that it had the same efficacy and pain relief effectiveness as my Opioids.
That was just an outright lie and deception. It didn’t do anything for me. I got some minimum pain relief at best and that was it.
After trying it for a month and reporting all of the shortcomings to the physician who prescribed it to me. (Only certain physicians were actually licensed and approved to prescribe it at that time). I told him that my pain was still as severe and I needed to go back to my Opioids he refused to do it.
I explained to him that I was willing to try the “B” because he had told me it would be as effective. If it was, I would not have had any problem continuing on it. He was actually quite subversive as “HIS REAL AGENDA” was only to get me off of Opioids.
I told him in no uncertain terms that his approach was very unprofessional and grossly misleading as I left his office never to return again.
Here’s a FACT: Every patient reacts to and processes pain differently. They react to any and all pain medications differently. Some patients have or develop certain neuropathy’s that make what ever pain levels they experience two to three times greater.
You need to find what works best and use it the best way you can.
Stronger isn’t always better or more effective. Patches, pills, injections etc……all have their advantages and disadvantages.
However, the worse thing you can do is “UNDER MEDICATE” yourself. Of course, over medicating and or an OD is self explanatory.
I arm myself with facts and if any physician, who by the way, are not trained very well or at all to treat Chronic Pain or Chronic Acute Pain I continue to be up front with them and I just go to another who will listen.

It’s very difficult in today’s i environment given all of the bad and totally unrelated press to OD’s that are rarely attributable to genuine, authentic pain patients and their physicians. It’s the street drugs laced with poisonous Fentanyl that are killing people. However, the government includes all of those statistics together when assessing deaths by OD on Opioids.
It’s absolutely absurd.
It would be similar to including all fatal car accidents in the same category with those that were drug and alcohol related with those that weren’t.
Best wishes and good luck finding the physicians you require to take proper care and offer appropriate treatment who are still committed to recognizing the difference between being OPIOID DEPENDENT vs OPIOID ADDICTED.
Sometimes the utter stupidity and gross amount of mis information, dis information and the uninformed working together is a very scary and dangerous proposition.
Kindest regards,
Phil
GODSPEED